The Foldable Phones game is on!

Google surprisingly announced the Pixel Fold yesterday at Google IO.

Today HONOR Magic Vs officially got announced in the UK for £1399.

Samsung’s most awaited Galaxy Fold 5 is due in July / Aug.

Oppo and Vivo will soon bring their fold to global markets.

Apple is out of the entire conversation!

Who is truly looking for a foldable smartphone at this time, though?

Is it just a niche product?

I have a take on foldable devices, this is me who has been using a folding device as her main daily driver for the last 2 months, and I am working on foldable products daily as part of my job…So I might sound bullish/biased on foldable devices…but hear me out and let me know your take on it.

Why foldable phones?

Foldable phones are set to revolutionize how we use our mobile devices, offering a larger screen and greater flexibility. As more and more people are looking to streamline their digital lives, fold phones are a game-changer. Foldable phones will likely become mainstream by 2025, but the sooner their compromises are fixed, the faster the technology can be adopted by regular users as opposed to enthusiasts. The market has grown by over 75% in 2022 as devices have become more affordable.

The user benefits that foldable can bring by having a larger internal display is to help users boost their productivity and enhance efficiency. It offers a perfect option for users who seek effortless multitasking and more screen real estate to enjoy content such as videos & gaming. The major selling point of a foldable phone is the convenience of a smaller phone without compromising the screen size. The full-screen size is sometimes more significant than on a traditional device.

These are some use cases for foldable devices:

1. It will give you an enhanced gaming experience

2. Enjoy large-screen video and movie HDR viewing experience with Dolby speakers.

3. Ditching tablets and use them to take study or meeting notes

4. Immersive video calling experience with loved ones and colleagues

5. No more need to carry your laptops for meetings…you can reply to your emails, screen presentations, edit excels and docs on foldable phones

6. As computational power becomes more powerful, you can do video and pic editing on foldable devices and post content on social media on the go

7. 3D viewing experience on a larger screen will be incredible.

8. Multitasking eg browsing the internet while using your WhatsApp and checking your social media. Watching a tutorial on youtube and doing the photo edit in parallel.

9. AI tools, with new AGI tools and features, foldable devices will give more screen estate and computational power to process data and run models.

Reasons to get excited about this cutting-edge technology:

1. Hinge Design: A large tablet-like device that can fold into 2 or 4 folds is possible with hinge technology. 20 years ago, Hinge technology was seen in feature flip phones with the original clamshell design. With the emergence of smartphones, Hinge technology had long disappeared until a few recent years ago when foldable smartphones made a comeback to global markets. Oppo has done so many iterations in every hinge version while with HONOR Magic Vs the hinge was trimmed down to 92 from 4 components.

2. Advanced Technology: A folding phone can boast top-of-the-line technology, including a high-quality camera, a powerful processor, and the latest version of Android with cool SW optimization adding Metaverse and AI to its innovation spin.

3. Seamless Experience: With the foldable screen, you can seamlessly transition between different modes, including phone, tablet, and laptop.

4. Increased Productivity: The larger screen makes it easier to multitask and be more productive, whether working on documents or watching videos.

5. Future-Proof: As technology continues to evolve, foldable devices are built to withstand the test of time with upgradable software and hardware components.

Market and Consumer Adoption:

China’s market will be the first to reach the turning point, likely within the next three years, due to close collaboration between suppliers to improve portability and affordability and a more mature ecosystem of apps for foldable. 90% of the top 5,000 apps in China have already been adapted for foldable form factors. UK and EU will be next; US might need to catch up as most of them are Apple users and have to wait for Apple to get into the foldable game. Immerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Latin America will follow later.

Challenges with foldable devices:

1. They are expensive

2. Not quite durable / Enhanced Durability & lightweight

3. Heavy to use and carry, look less bulky

4. Need huge software and app optimization

5. Need better camera and battery performance

6. Can do true and useful multitasking

7. Lack of app ecosystem support: Foldable smartphones combine tablets and smartphones, presenting a valuable opportunity for the mobile app development industry. Today, most apps don’t screen well on a folding device; the future roadmap would be to focus on the app’s quality, which requires heavy testing, Multi-window support, and a seamless screen continuity feature.

We want to epitomize state-of-the-art foldable technology with a robust hinge design and engineering focus, solving multiple pain points associated with foldable smartphones.

Looking ahead:

The future of foldable is to be used as a mixture of tablets and smartphones, a two-in-one solution. The challenge, of course, is the additional weight and thickness, but the foldable sales will explode when we can make it lighter and thinner. All OEMs in the Android Ecosystem should work with Google to nurture the foldable ecosystem for consumers worldwide.

According to data firm IDC, the foldable market is predicted to triple by 2027, accounting for 50 million units annually. Foldables will account for 5% of all smartphone wholesale revenues worldwide in 2023. If you find traditional smartphones boring, you should be excited about foldable devices as it’s a win-win for all — OEMs can innovate and put a good price tag and at the same time, consumers can enjoy cutting-edge technology with smartphones which is now an extension of us in many ways.